Frostbitten Hearts Petstuck
by DumaFire
Summary: A story by Misa-chu and me! ouo It starts off with Karkat being abused by his owner, later to be taken in by John. After some mischief, they visit Rose and her troll Kanaya. -WIP- -Violence-
1. Chapter 1

Karkat let out a growl, clawing at his handler. The woman with long nails had found him as a child, but horribly mistreated him for 4 years now. Instead of treating him as a troll, she had treated him like a dog. She kicked at him, his small malnourished frame falling to the cold kitchen floor. She let smoke fill the air as she exhaled, putting out the flames of her cigarette on Karkat's arm. He squealed, and she laughed as she dug her high heel into his stomach in reply to his attempts to curl up. She kicked him again, making him flinch and hold his side. "You worthless runt— I'm surprised I haven't given you away long before now. All you do is waste my precious money, and sit around like the pathetic shit you are. You stupid mutant. You aren't even cute." She walked off, and Karkat crawled to hide in a corner. His ribs poked out of his skin— showing his frail frame. His stomach growled, in desperate need of food. He hadn't eaten an actual meal in a long time.

It was no surprise when she decided to abandon him. She put him out on the street, dropping him off somewhere in the city. Karkat scrambled off— the car the woman was in driving off. Karkat looked around with terrified eyes as people walked along— leaving him by himself. He curled up in a ball— terrified. People spat at him and kicked him— seeing his pathetically small horns and scrawny frame. Someone even threw a can at him. His stomach growled once more, and he let out a small whine as it began to rain.

John Egbert, a young man of maybe twenty, walked down the street hurriedly, his hoodie pulled over his head in an attempt to shield himself from the rain, when he heard a small whine from the alleyway he was passing. He stopped and looked down the alley, his curiosity perked, before walking down the alley. 'Was someone hurt or something?' he wondered, looking around before spotting a tiny, trembling little troll curled up in the corner.

Man, he was little, soaking wet clothes clinging to his too-thin frame, and his hair plastered down against his head, exposing a pair of little nubby horns. "Oh…" John breathed before taking a few steps closer to the troll and kneeling down in front of him, still about an arm's length away. "Hey little guy… Come here." he murmured, not wanting to frighten the poor little thing anymore than he already was. He held his hands out, palms up, showing him he didn't intend to hurt him. He'd seen trolls before, but he'd hardly been around them. He knew they could learn to speak, but this one seemed awfully young, so he wasn't sure if he could talk yet.

Karkat looked over to him and tried to squirm away, but he flinched and let out another wine as he had bumped one of his bruises against something behind him. He stared over at John, as if pondering weather or not he should let this new person near him. He curled up some more— wishing he could just make himself disappear somehow. His ears went back, as if he was prepared to be beaten once more.

"Hey, it's alright, I'm not gonna hurt you…" John said softly. He leaned foreward and reached out, brushing against Karkat's head, petting him a little bit. Wow, he was cold… He should really try to get him home soon and warm him up. By now he was getting pretty wet too, but he couldn't bring himself to care anymore; he was more worried about the little troll pressed up against the corner.

Karkat let out a slight squeak as he was touched, but seeing as he wasn't being hit he calmed down a little. His breath was still shaky though— scared of being abused as he was so used to. He was scared to trust this stranger, seeing that trusting people often let to being hurt.

"Is it alright if I pick you up?" John asked after a moment, once the little one had calmed down a bit from being touched. 'God, he's so skittish… What'd happened to him before to make him like this?' John wondered. He moved a little closer to the small troll, still trying to move slowly to avoid startling him.

Karkat shuffled a bit but didn't move away as John wasn't giving him any signs that he was going to hit him. He glanced upwards a bit but then looked down at the floor, weakly. He couldn't lift his head from the ground anymore— he was just so exhausted…. His eyes began to close, but he forced them open to keep an eye on John. Even then, they began to close again.

John stroked the small troll's hair again, before moving closer to him, so he could pick him up. "I'm gonna pick you up now, alright?" John asked as he gently slid his hand under the little troll and lifted him up, holding him close to his chest. He wasn't sure if he even understood him, but being slow and deliberate like this should help him understand, right? Even if the little one didn't want him to, he needed to get him inside and dried off. John stood up, cradling the small troll in his arms, and walked out of the alley.

Karkat was too weak to fight back— although being picked up really scared the wits out of him. Despite it all, he clung on tightly to John's shirt and shivered in the cold. He sneezed lightly, and closed his eyes as his mind began to drift off… His shivers died down as he began to fall asleep. He didn't weigh much, considering how thin he was.

John walked down the sidewalk quickly, wanting to get home as soon as he could. He ignored the looks that passerby were giving him, and was soon home, at his little apartment. He shifted so he was holding the troll- his troll? With one arm, while he grabbed his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. John walked inside, kicking his shoes off as he walked over to the couch, where he sat down and gently tried to pry the sleeping troll, who was still clinging to him, off of his shirt.

Karkat began to stir once more, letting go of John's shirt to curl up again. He did that often, as it seemed that he needed to defend himself from something often. He covered his head as he awoke, looking around the room cautiously. He looked rather distressed and confused around these new surroundings. He curled up a bit more —if even possible— with a soft growl.

"It's okay little guy." John said with a small smile, putting his hand on the troll's head and giving his hair a little ruffle. "Let's get you out of those wet clothes though, okay? You need to take a bath." he explained to him, before moving his hand back to rub behind his little nubby horns- he'd heard once that trolls liked being petted there.

Karkat stiffened a bit but let out a soft purr as he was pet. He uncurled a bit, seeing as John wasn't being aggressive towards him. He wiped at his eyes, looking over to this strange new person. He pawed at him a bit— curious about him.

John chuckled as the little troll pawed at him, and looked down at him with a fond smile. "My name's John. And you? Do you have a name?" he asked as he continued to rub him behind his horns gently, seeing as that's what'd gotten him to finally relax. He'd noticed that the troll's tears were a bright red; now, he knew it depended on their blood color, but, weren't all the colors that a troll's blood could be supposed to be pretty dark?

Karkat continued his soft purring, his ears perking back up to listen in on his surroundings. "Karr-katt" he says, although his speaking pattern was very off, and his pronunciation was strange. He replied in a very low tone- as if he would be yelled at for speaking any louder.

"Karkat?" John asked, unsure if he heard him right. He was so quiet, not to mention the way he'd said it. "Well Karkat, let me take those wet things off you, okay? I'm sure it can't be comfortable." He said. He stopped petting Karkat and instead hooked his fingers under the hem of the shirt the troll was wearing. "Heh, arms up, please."

Karkat looked up to him, continuing to be wary. He did what he asked without questioning him, although he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do. The word 'Bath' was not in his vocabulary. His previous owner had always taken him and put him down in a bucket full of bleach- watching him squirm and cry out as it soaked into his cuts, which were sometimes still bleeding when she did so. Because of this he had grown a fear of buckets, not to mention a fear of bleach. She loved to hurt him in many cruel ways, and just remembering her disgustingly long nails made him squirm. His mind returned to the present, looking up to John with a mix of both trust and uncertainty.

John pulled the soaking wet shirt over Karkat's head, careful not to let it catch on his ears or horns, and winced when he saw how skinny and cut up he was. No matter what, John decided, he was going to keep him; there was no way he'd ever let Karkat go back to someone who'd done this to him. "Alright, pants off too; can you take them off yourself?" he asked quietly, reaching over to give Karkat another little rub just behind his horns, since he'd seemed to like it so much the first time.

Karkat took them off on his own, and once the turtle neck was off you were able to see the collar that his previous owner had put on him. It was a prong collar, which meant it had spikes along the inside of it that dug into his neck. His previous owner must of hid it using his turtleneck sweater, so that people on the streets would not question her about it. Karkat's legs were covered in bruises and cuts as well— and he was generally a huge mess. He pressed his legs to his chest, curling up again. He purred softly when John began to pet him once more.

"Here, let's get that off you." John muttered. He stopped petting him and unhooked the collar. He took it off of him slowly, careful not to let it hurt the little troll anymore than it already had. Once it was off, he got up off the couch and picked Karkat up again gently, almost afraid he'd hurt him on accident. He carried Karkat into the bathroom and set him in the tub before putting the stopper in and turning on the water; warm but not too hot. "Just tell me if the water's too warm for you, okay?" John said, grabbing a washcloth from the hanger in the shower, before kneeling down next to the bath tub.

Karkat whined as he took the collar off, feeling the metallic prongs dig out of his neck. He reached his hand up to touch the bloody spots from where the pongs had gripped into him. He looked around when he was set into the tub, whining some more and gripping onto John before he realized the water didn't hurt or sting him. He let himself settle down inside, touching at the bottom of the tub curiously.

"See, its okay, water's not gonna hurt you." John said with a small smile when Karkat clung to him. He dipped the cloth in the warm water, before grabbing the bottle of body soap and pouring a little of it onto the washcloth. "Sorry, this might sting a little, but I'll try to be gentle." He said as he started running the washcloth over Karkat gently, trying to avoid touching any of the cuts that hadn't scabbed over yet. While he washed him, his other hand rested on Karkat's shoulder lightly, to keep him still.

Karkat whined a bit, the soap lightly stinging at some of his cuts, and he squirmed a bit as he was washed. He licked at the soap in an attempt to get it off of him, but immediately swatted at his tongue to get rid of the taste, which he obviously didn't like. He let John wash him, before he decided it would be fun to try and catch the washcloth as he was being washed. He swatted at it, amused, and tried to catch it.

John chuckled quietly when Karkat licked at the soap. "No, the soap's not to eat." He reprimanded lightly, before holding the washcloth up, letting Karkat play with it, before handing it to him. He was pretty much cleaned off anyway, might as well let him have some fun. John grabbed the bottle of shampoo from the side of the tub and poured a little into into his palm. He set the bottle down, before leaning forward to start rubbing the soap into Karkat's hair. "Close your eyes, this stuff hurts if it gets into them." He warned as he ran his fingers through the small troll's short black hair.

Karkat closed his eyes, letting John wash out his hair. He clung to the soft cloth in the hands, rolling it around in the water. He found it rather calming somehow, it took his mind off of all his past experiences. He shuffled his feet around, grumbling to himself despite not being able to talk very well.

John finished soaping up Karkat's hair, and took his hands away from his head. "Heh, what'cha saying little guy?" he asked as he listened to Karkat grumble to himself. He cupped his hands and dipped them in the tub, letting the fill up with water before lifting them up and pouring the water over Karkat's head to wash out the soap. He did that several times, until the soap had been washed out of his hair completely. He turned off the water, since it was up to Karkat's waist, and just let him play in the water for a little bit.

Karkat curiously opened his eyes, running at them. He touched his neck again, which was still hurting from the collar. He traced over one of the bloody spots lightly, wincing and pulling his hand away. He splashed in the water, finding it amusing. He shuffled his paws a bit, lightly grabbing at them like a child would. Afterwords, he went back to playing with the water. He let out a soft "hrrrrr~" as he played with the water, obviously pleased.

John smiled and let out a soft chuckle as Karkat played with the water. He stood up, eyeing the bloody spots on the trolls neck; he'd need to bandage those up once Karkat was dried off. Speaking of which; "I'll be right back, I'm gonna go get a towel to dry you off." He said before walking out of the bathroom. Karkat was young, but it was just a few inches of water; he should be okay by himself for a minute.

Karkat, seeing John leave the room, stood up, curiously. He tried to climb out of the tub, although it was hard. He almost got out before he slipped, falling back into the water and hitting his arm, which made him let out a large whine. He sat up against the side of the tub, holding his shoulder. He saw the washcloth float about and snatched it once more with his other hand, clinging onto it and hugging it to his chest.

Upon hearing Karkat whine, he grabbed a fluffy blue towel and quickly walked back to the bathroom. "You okay?" he asked as he walked over to the tub, noticing that Karkat was sitting against the side of the tub and holding his shoulder. He leaned over and scooped Karkat up in the towel, being careful not to touch his shoulder. "Did you bump your shoulder?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of the tub, setting Karkat in his lap, and started drying him off.

Karkat nodded in reply, rubbing at his shoulder a bit. Being covered in bruises and cuts, and then getting hurt… He shuffled his feet around, not letting John touch his pawfeet at all. Despite everything, his feet were quite ticklish. He grabbed at the towl, confused by how fluffy it was. He tried to say something, but it didn't seem much like a word. "Rabbles :I "

"Huh? What's that?" John asked as he continued to try to dry him off, though he eventually just settled for letting Karkat hold the towel around himself once he grabbed it. He honestly had no idea what Karkat was attempting to tell him, though he was sure he could figure it out, eventually.

Karkat kept trying to say it, although in the end he just held up the towel. He forgot what it was called, so he tried to call it something similar. Karkat pulled the towel over himself, nuzzling it a little. It was soft and warm… He hugged it to himself, enjoying it. He purred a little, too.

"Oh, the towel?" he asked, watching as Karkat nuzzled the blue towel. God he was cute. 'What kind of terrible person would want to hurt him?' John wondered sadly. He picked Karkat up again and carried him to the bedroom. John set him on the bed, still wrapped in the towel, before going over to his dresser and rummaging through the drawers, trying to find a t-shirt small enough for Karkat to wear.

Karkat snuggled up to his soft bed, hugging the towel and curling up with it around him. He squirmed a bit until he became comfortable, falling asleep. In his dream, the woman with long nails dragged him away, putting the collar back around him and painfully yanking on his leash. He could almost feel the cold steel ripping through him, and jolted awake with a loud squeal.

John had just found a shirt for him, one that had gotten shrunk in the wash last month, when Karkat squealed. He rushed over to the bed and sat down next to him, before pulling Karkat up into his lap, towel and all. "What's wrong Karkles?" he asked worriedly, cradling the frightened troll gently, the t-shirt tossed aside on the top of the dresser.

Karkat whined, clinging to John's arm as he picked him up. His long ears pointed downwards, showing how scared he was. He whimpered, shaking in John's lap. "….S…..sharrp…." he managed to say. He tried to cover his neck, as if it were something to be ashamed of. He curled up again, hugging John's arm a bit tighter. "…et hurrts….."

"Shhh, it's okay, you're safe now, don't worry…" John said softly as he held him close, rocking him a little bit. "It hurts? Come on, we're gonna get you dressed, and then I'll patch those up for you. Sound good?" he asked, looking down at Karkat with a small, reassuring smile. He ruffled Karkat's hair a little, though it was still a bit damp, before gently putting his hand over Karkat's tiny one that was trying to cover his neck.

Karkat got up and lay his small head against John's chest, letting his whimpering die down. He pressed himself against him, nuzzling him like a child. He pulled up his towel as well, which he used to try and cover his neck with. He didn't like for his neck to be showing. He shuffled a bit after calming himself down, closing his eyes once more.

"It's okay, you don't need to cover those up." John said and got up after a few moments, Karkat still cuddled in his arms. He walked over to the dresser and pried him off of his shirt before setting him down on the dresser. John grabbed the shirt he'd found for Karkat and held it up for him to see. "Can you put this on, please?" he asked. "Then you can get some rest while I change into some dry clothes too."

Karkat reached for the shirt and put it on, although he wasn't exactly quite sure how. After some scrambling, he managed to get it on, but he had put it on backwards by mistake. He grumbled to himself for a bit, knowing the shirt felt strange on him somehow… He looked over to John, as if he would know. He let out a questioning "Hrrrr~?" sound.

"Heh, it's on backwards." John noted with a small chuckle before he helped Karkat fix the shirt so it was on the right way. The shirt went down to his knees, but the rest of it seemed to fit pretty well. That would have to do until he washed Karkat's other clothes and went shopping for some more stuff for him tomorrow. Once he was dressed, John picked Karkat and his towel up and carried him back to the bed, setting him on it gently.

Karkat rested his head against John, feeling his mind begin to drift off into sleep once more. This time however, it wasn't a nightmare. Karkat had a peaceful look on his face, becoming limp in John's arms. Before he was set on the bed, he had fallen asleep. His breathing was soft, and he sounded relaxed. His hair softly fell over his face, adding to his innocent expression. He let out a very faint, yet audible purr as he dreampt.

John smiled as he laid Karkat down on the bed and pulled the covers over him. 'Poor little guy, he must be exhausted…" he thought, looking down at the sleeping troll for a moment before reluctantly turning and going back over to his dresser. He took out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, and changed into them quietly, tossing his wet clothes in the hamper that sat in the corner of the room.

Karkat turned about in his sleep— his arms managing to find a pillow, as he quickly curled himself around it with a light purr. He hugged it tightly, rubbing his cheek against it a little. He looked so comfortable like that, although he didn't move around much afterwords.

Once he was dressed, John looked back at Karkat before walking over to his desk and sitting down in front of the computer. He turned it on, and once it had booted up, he opened up internet explorer as well as the chat application that he and his friends used. Maybe they knew more about how to take care of baby trolls, and doing some research on the internet would certainly yield –some- results, right?

-END OF CHAPTER 1-


	2. Chapter 2

- [In the Morning] -

Karkat yawned, showing all of his tiny not-so-sharp teeth. He continued to snuggle the pillow he had been clinging to during the night. He yawned a bit and squirmed, getting up to stretch in a cat-like manner. He sat up, staring over to the big shirt he was wearing, and curiously looked around. It was then that he spotted the same person from before. He got up and went over to John, curiously poking at him.

John, after getting up to toss his and Karkat's clothes in the washer, had pretty much spent the night on his computer, and had managed to fall asleep at his desk. He stirred a little when Karkat poked at him and smiled down at him tiredly, still not quite awake. "Hey Karkat." He muttered as he sat up and stretched. "Heh, is it morning already?" he asked, glancing at the clock on his computer. It was in fact, very, very early in the morning.

Karkat nodded, although he was wide awake. He hugged John's leg, hrrring a bit more. One of his ears twitched as it came into contact with his leg and he hugged it a bit more. "…mrrring.." he managed to say. He tried to climb up his leg to sit up on his lap, curious of the strange machine he was using.

"Good morning to you too." John said with a small grin as he picked Karkat up and set him on his lap; Karkat seemed to be a bit more vocal than he had been the other night. He rubbed behind Karkat's horns again like he had last night and asked, "So, you want breakfast?" as he continued to pet the small troll, not minding that he was trying to play with the computer.

Karkat purred a bit- resting his head against John. He wasn't really sure what 'breakfast' was, but he was really hungry. He hasn't eaten in a long time, and was just used to being force-fed horrible dog food by his previous owner. He hated the taste of it, and how he was only allowed to eat what her dog didn't finish. Thinking again, that dog was probably dead by now. He looked over to the computer screen, although he wasn't sure what any of it said. He hadn't been taught to read, either.

"I'm gonna take that purr as a yes." John said as he set Karkat down before getting out of the chair. He was –not- going to carry Karkat everywhere, even if he was tiny and lightweight and adorable. He took Karkat's little hand in his own and led him out of the bedroom, through the livingroom, and into the kitchen. John set him on one of the high chairs in front of the table and pat him on the head before walking over to the refrigerator and opening it, trying to find something that Karkat could eat. Rose had said they weren't picky, but that they should have lots of protein.

Karkat let John guide him to the kitchen, looking around at his surroundings. Everything was so strange and new— but somehow it all seemed so comfortable. Smelling food, his nose wriggled, and he looked around. He looked over to the table, smiling a bit and running to crawl under it. Nice and full of shade C:B

John chuckled softly and let Karkat hide under the table for the time being. The whole kitchen was pretty dark, since he hadn't turned on any lights, so he flipped the switch for the one over the stove. It was pretty dim, but he figured that'd be good, since, according to the internet, trolls didn't enjoy bright lights. He took the carton of eggs out from the fridge, grabbed the skillet from the cupboard, and was soon busy making scrambled eggs for himself and Karkat.

Karkat wondered out from under the table, curiously walking over to where John was and pulling on the leg of his pants lightly, wondering what he was doing. He could smell the eggs cooking over the stove, and it smelled amazing. He wondered if he could find a way to climb up to get a better look. He hoped on to the oven's handle, trying to climb up.

"Woah, woah, careful!" John said, quickly turning off the burner he was using before leaning down and removing Karkat off of the oven handle. "I'm gonna feed you in a minute, but you have to be patient. The stove is –not- a good thing to climb." He reprimanded as he carried Karkat back over to the table. Luckily the eggs were done cooking anyway, so he wouldn't need to worry about Karkat trying that again while the stove was on.

Karkat pouted a bit as he was carried away, trying to get a look at whatever John had been doing. He sighed to himself, looking over to the table with curiosity. Knowing that John didn't hurt him as his previous owner had done, he could get away with something he otherwise would never try. He climbed on the table, looking around. He lay down on it, looking to see what his owner had been doing.

John walked back over to the stove and took out two glasses, two plates, and two forks. He portioned out the eggs onto the plates, put the forks on the side of them, and put them on the table before grabbing the carton of milk from the refrigerator and pouring it in the glasses. He set those on the table as well and sat down at the table. "Heh, can you sit on one of the chairs instead Karkles? It's not polite to sit on the table."

Karkat grumbled to himself, getting back onto the chair. He had just taught himself that being on the table wasn't exiting and wasn't really worth the effort. He looked over to his food though, turning his head over to the side a bit. What was that in front of him? It smelled amazing… but what was it? He poked at it curiously, finding himself amused by it. Was it a toy?

John grabbed the fork and took a bite of his eggs before glancing over at Karkat, who was poking at his food. He smiled as he stabbed another forkful of eggs before holding them up to Karkat's mouth. "Here, eat it; they're pretty good." He said amusedly, guessing the little guy had never had scrambled eggs before.

Karkat hesitantly put the fork in his moth, pulling it out to chew at the scrambled eggs. They tasted absolutely delicious to him, who had only eaten bland pellets up until now. He took his fork, copying John, and started scooping up the egg to eat it. Of course, it didn't take long for him to learn that you shouldn't bite off more than you can chew. He didn't finish his egg- it was too much for his tiny stomach to handle- but he was full by now.

John finished off his eggs, though he kept stopping to watch Karkat eat his. Man he was cute; he was just like a little kid, and he seemed to learn pretty quickly. Once they were done, John took the dishes and put them in the sink- he'd get to them later. It wasn't like there was a pile of dishes in the sink so if Rose came over like she'd been talking about last night, she wouldn't complain too much. "Oh, yeah, Karkat, we're probably gonna meet my friend Rose today; she has a troll too, her name's Kanaya, I think." He said as he walked back over to the table.

Karkat looked up over to him, trying to say their names. After a while, he had managed to say "Rouse" and "Kaeniya," so that was a good start at least. He wondered what if would be like to meet another troll. He had seen a few before, but he usually just hid from them. because he wasn't sure what they would act like. Sometimes they were terrifyingly large and vicious. He shuddered, thinking about it. He climbed down from his chair, going over to John and picked up his arms, wanting to be picked up.

John leaned down and picked him up, wishing, for once in his life, that he had hips like Rose. He remembered her sending him a picture of Kanaya right after she gotten her; she'd been holding her with one arm and taking the picture with the other. The photo had been pretty blurry, but, still cute. He hadn't actually seen Kanaya much besides that actually, but from the few times he'd been around her, she'd seemed very proper and polite. He hoped she and Karkat would get along.

Karkat sat on John's lap, lightly rubbing at his hand with his head, in demand of getting pet again. He was a feisty little troll, besides his fragile and hurt frame, he was still quite tough. One might even consider calling him wild, or a troublemaker. Seeing that John wasn't as strict as his previous leader, he had put it into mind that he could break rules that John never had. For one, his previous own would have broken his legs if she had seen him on the table. John however, didn't seen to react. He would have to experiment with a few things. This was going to be fun.

John yawned as he carried Karkat into the livingroom, petting him again since Karkat seemed so insistent about it. He sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV and flipping to the cartoons. It was awfully early and Rose wouldn't want to do anything until later, so, he was going to see if he could get Karkat to take a nap with him. He put his feet up on the couch and continued petting his little troll, letting him lay on top of him.

Karkat was still quite energetic, and if he wasn't being pet, he probably would have run off to explore some more. He curled up in John's lap, softly purring as he was pet. He looked over to the TV, as if fascinated by it. He found himself watching whatever show had been playing at the time, lost in the moment. His ear flickered a bit at some of the sounds, though.

After a little while, John ended up falling asleep on the couch, Karkat still curled up on top of him. It was pretty early after all; it was only, what, six am? Too early for his tastes, especially after staying up all night. Since Karkat seemed content just to watch TV for the time being, he wasn't very worried that the little guy would get into too much trouble if he dozed off for a while.

Karkat continued watching TV for a while, and an hour or two had passed before he realized that John was asleep. He climbed down from John's lap and left from the sofa, looking around. He crawled over to some cabinets, opening them and looking to what was inside. Nothing was really interesting, so he closed them and ran off to the kitchen. He went under the table again, setting there for a while. He found it comforting, almost like a fort. Afterwords, he climbed out from under the table and went over to the faucet, turning it on. He curiously put his head under it, taking back out and shaking out his hair, which was now wet. Water droplets flew everywhere. He pawed at the faucet, trying to figure out how to close it. In the end, he just left it running. After that, he went back over to the over, and seeing as John wasn't there, he tried to climb up to the stove again. He grabbed the handle of the oven and jumped up, but the oven door opened up from under him, making him fall backwards. He let out a startled cry as he fell, backing away and hissing at the oven.

John woke up when he heard Karkat cry out. He sat up and looked around curiously, not sure where Karkat may have run off to. He walked into the kitchen, and found the kitchen sink on, the oven door open, and Karkat sulking under the table. He walked over and turned the water off, and closed the oven door before walking over to Karkat's hiding place. He knelt down, peering in at Karkat, who's hair was still damp from the faucet. "Hey buddy, you alright?" he asked with a small smile. The table was pretty high, if he had to he could climb under it and get Karkat, but he doubted it'd come to that. Karkat really seemed to like him, so he doubted Karkat would try to stay under there for long.

Karkat crawled out from under the table, clinging tightly to John's leg and hissing at the Oven once again. He acted as if the oven actually wanted to hurt him, and that it didn't like him. He hugged John's leg a bit tighter, clinging to his clothes to climb up to his shoulder. Afterwords, he hugged John's neck, hastily looking back towards the evil oven of doom.

John let the little troll climb up him, and once he was secure, he slowly stood up and walked out of the room. "Heh, it's alright, the oven's not gonna hurt you. That's why you shouldn't climb on it though- I don't want you to fall and get hurt." He explained as he walked into the bedroom and set Karkat down on the bed. He ruffled Karkat's hair a little before walking over to the desk and grabbing his phone. "I'm gonna call Rose now and see when she wants to come over." He explained as he dialed her number.

Rose had been at home, reading some books with Kanaya as she was used to waking up earlier than John. She had eaten breakfast by then, and when the phone began to ring, she put her book down and went to answer it. Karkat watched John use the phone, and decided to go look around his room. He climbed down from John's bed, despite it being quite comfortable, and climbed under it. He hoped there would be some cool stuff around here to play with.

When the phone rang, Kanaya got off of Rose's lap, taking their book with them, and wandered off to a different part of the house, knowing it was impolite to listen in on people's phone conversations, no matter how curious you were about them. "Be careful, okay Kar?" John said to the little troll, before turning his attention back to the phone. After a few rings, it clicked, meaning Rose had picked up the phone. "Hey Rose." He said happily.

Karkat found a pair of John's shoes, and pulled on the laces, amused by it. He pulled at the string, trying to separate it from the shoe. He didn't quite know how, so he just pulled on it. Rose watched Kanaya leave the room with a kind smile. She turned her attention to their phone conversation. "Hello, John. I inquire this is about our meeting this afternoon?" she asks.

Kanaya put the book away before looking for something to wear, sure that the phone conversation was about their meeting with one of Rose's friends that she'd been talking about last night. "Heh, yeah. I was wondering when we should meet up, and do you wanna come over here, or should me and Karkat go over to your place?" he asked, glancing down at the edge of the bed. He couldn't see Karkat, but that wasn't surprising, considering he was pretty tiny- he could hide under the bad without any problem at all, even if there was a bunch of junk under there.

Karkat found a box of stuff under the bed, and immediately tried to open it. However, the shoelace he had been playing with was stuck on his hand, as well as the shoe. He grumbled a bit, trying to find a way to pull it off so that he could play with the box. Rose thought it over. "I wouldn't mind you visiting my place of residence," she replies. Her house was clean and well-decorated, besides some books she had on the floor from when she was looking through them earlier. She had many different varieties of food, as well. That, and she didn't believe John had visited them in quite a while.

Kanaya returned a few minutes later, wearing a long skirt and a blouse that Rose had gotten for her a few weeks ago. She laid down on the couch and looked up at Rose expectantly, wondering what they'd be doing today. "Alright, sounds good. When should I come over?" John asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed. Yes, Karkat was still under it, but he knew it hardly sagged at all when someone was on it, so he should be fine.

Karkat managed to climb out from under the bed, whining a bit as he shook his arm, trying to untangle the shoe from himself. Rose thought it over. She looked at the clock. 10:43. It would take 10 minutes or so for them to get there, so she figured that they should come by at 12:00 to have lunch. She explained her plan to John, meanwhile Karkat kicked at the shoes with his pawfeet. He looked like a rabbit as he did so, seeing how small he was. He bit at the shoe in annoyance.

"Alright, sounds good. Uh, I gotta go; Karkat got tangled in my shoelaces." John said, ignoring Rose's chuckling at that as he hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed. "Come 'ere Karkles, lemme get those off you." John said as he scooped up the struggling troll into his lap and set about freeing Karkat from the shoelaces. "Don't bite them, I need those." He said as he finished undoing the laces that'd gotten tangled around Karkat's little arm.

Karkat let him untangle the lace from his arm, pulling his arm a bit until he had finally gotten it off of him. He wanted to crawl back under the bed, maybe even find out what was in the box he had seen earlier. However, he felt tired. Exploring around the house all morning had really taken it's toll, and he found himself crawling back over to John's lap, lightly nuzzling him as he began to drift off to sleep once more.

-END OF CHAPTER 2-


	3. Chapter 3

"Heh, so –now- you wanna sleep?" John asked amusedly as he looked down at Karkat, all cute and curled up on his lap. He set him down on the bed and pulled the blankets over him before getting up. Karkat could sleep for awhile, until it was a little closer to when they were supposed to leave. Speaking of which, it was about eleven, so, Karkat could probably sleep for another forty minutes, while John got ready to leave.

Karkat shuffled in his sleep, soundlessly dreaming. Rose began to put some of the books away that she had left out earlier, and then left to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed into something more fitting for the occasion. Afterwords, she left her room, looking around for Kanaya.

Kanaya had decided she was tired of simply sitting inside the house, and so she was sitting on the railing of the porch, under the overhang and out of the light rain that was falling. John took a shower and changed into some different clothes, and was just combing out his hair when he glanced at the clock and figured it was about time to head out to Rose's.

Karkat was laying on John's bed on his back, his mouth open as he drooled a bit. He shuffled his foot, dreaming about gog-knows-what. Rose, seeing that Kanaya was outside, smiled and opened the door. She stepped out onto the porch, going over to the rail and leaning over it. She reached her hand out a bit, feeling the drops of rain gently falling down on her skin.

John walked over to the bed and picked up the little troll. "Hey buddy, we're going out for a bit." He said, smiling as Karkat started to wake up a little. When Rose walked out onto the porch, Kanaya looked over at her with a small smile. "Hello, Rose. Were you searching for me?" she asked, watching as the raindrops collected on her owner's hand.

Rose looked over to her with a smile. "Yes, I was. We should be expecting some visitors quite soon, actually," she replies. Karkat snorted a bit as he began to stir, wiping off the drool from his mouth. He yawned, stretching his legs as John picked him up. He let out another soft "Hrrrrr~" sound as a greeting, seeing as he couldn't talk very well.

"Visitors? Your friends you spoke of last night to me?" Kanaya asked, scooting a little closer to Rose, but being careful to stay out of the rain. Once Karkat had woken up a bit more, John set him on the floor and offered him his hand to hold. "Let's go." He said, taking Karkat's little hand and leading him out of the apartment.

Karkat let John guide him away, his ear twitching curiously. He followed John out of the apartment, staying closely by his side when they left. Outside of his new home, everything was new and strange all over again. He squeezed John's hand a bit as they continued walking. On the other hand, Rose was looking up at the clouds. "Yes, John as well as his new troll Karkat. We shall meet his acquaintance when they arrive," she replies.

"It's alright, I won't let go." John reassured the little troll as they walked together. There was a good amount of people out today, but they all seemed to give them a pretty wide girth- maybe they didn't like Karkat or something? John didn't know. Kanaya's ears perked up a little at the mention of another troll. "He has a troll too?" she inquired, looking interested. She hadn't met many other trolls before. Most of the people she'd met before had been ones from when Rose occasionally took her to work with her.

Rose smiled some more. "Yes, he has a troll named Karkat. I can infer he will ask me questions about taking care of his. I'm not sure of what his appearance might be, but as John had ended the conversation stating that Karkat had gotten intertwined with his shoe somehow, I assume he must be quite a young troll." Karkat hid behind John, whining a little as he had remembered how people on the street used to glare and spit at him, and sometimes throw things at him while calling him things such as 'freak' and 'mutantblood.' He let go of John's hand after a while, clinging to his leg, tightly.

"Are you aware of his blood color yet?" Kanaya asked with a small smile, pressing a little closer to Rose; asking to be pet in the most subtle way she knew how to. Walking with a young troll attached to one's leg is not the easiest thing to do, and so after a few minutes, John stopped, and gently pried Karkat off of his pant leg, opting instead to carry him. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here, so there's nothing to be scared of." He told Karkat as he started walking again. After a few minutes, they reached Rose's house, and John knocked on the door.

Rose shook her head, lightly. "I'm not sure of his blood color as of yet," she replied. She was about to reach over and pet her troll for a bit, until she heard a knock. "Oh, it appears that our visitors have finally arrived." She walked back into her house, opening the door to let them in. Karkat had pressed his eyes shut, but hearing John's knocked he had opened them again. He looked around, curious of his surroundings.

Kanaya sighed softly at the rotten timing of their guests, but didn't complain as she climbed off of the porch railing and followed Rose back inside. John moved Karkat a little so he was up higher, more at his shoulder level. "Now, when Rose comes and opens the door, say hi to her, okay? Don't be shy, she's a really nice girl." he said with a small smile.

Rose opened the door, smiling over to her guests. Karkat looked over to her, clinging to John a bit tighter. He said she was nice... right? Did that mean she was going to hit him? He felt a bit uneasy, but Rose began to talk. "Good afternoon, John. I see you've brought Karkat along with you." She took a moment to look over the troll, noting how small his horns were, as well as how young he must be. She welcomed them inside, Karkat trying to hide by using John for cover.

"Hey Rose." John replied happily as they walked inside the house. "Come on Karkles, it's okay. Just say hi to her- no need to be shy." He said softly to the little troll currently trying to bury himself against his shirt, before turning his attention back to Rose. "He and Kanaya should get along okay, right?" he asked, noticing that her troll was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, looking at them, especially Karkat, curiously, unsure if she should go over and greet them or not.

Rose looked over to Kanaya, as if expecting her to come over. "Kanaya, this is John's troll, Karkat," she introduces. She smiles over to Karkat and he looks over to her suspiciously. He then turns around to see Kanaya, letting out a curious hrrr. He loosened his grip on John a little, trying to get a better look at her. Rose smiled at the young troll's curiosity.

Kanaya nodded and walked over to the group. "Hello John, Karkat. My name is Kanaya." She said softly before giving a little bow, since John couldn't shake her hand while carrying Karkat, and the little troll looked too young to understand the gesture anyway. "Hi Kanaya, it's nice to meet you." John said as he set Karkat down in front of her. "Why don't you go get to know her while me and Rose talk for awhile?" John suggested to Karkat.

Karkat curiously sat down in front of Kanaya, curiously holding out his arm to poke her shoulder, wanting to see her reaction. Rose looked over to John. "I inquire you have some questions about trolls, as well as the hemospectrum, correct?" She asked, walking over to her living room to take a seat on the sofa. She motioned for him to sit next to her, as well.

Kanaya didn't flinch at the touch, though it seemed odd to her; something trolls who didn't know each other shouldn't do. Still, he was young, and she doubted he knew such things yet, especially if he hadn't been around other trolls before. She purred quietly as she sat down next to him; a sign that she wouldn't try to hurt him. John nodded and followed Rose over to the couch. "Yeah, I do. Like, for starters, why's the hemoscale important? I mean, is it even important?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

Rose thought it over a bit, before going over to her library and taking out a book, skimming through the pages until she found a page referring to the hemospectrum. She came back over to John, sitting next to him once more. "The hemospectrum means a lot to some people, especially breeders, although I personally feel as if people are taking this matter far too seriously. Some blood colors make trolls more expensive than others, and the lowbloods are often left on the streets or abandoned. Meanwhile, highbloods are bid on for quite a lot of money. Some blood colors give their trolls physic abilities, and the highest bloods, known as seadwellers, can live on water and on land," she explains. "Kanaya has a jade blood color, so she is in the middle of the hemospectrum," she says, pointing to the color on the chart.

Karkat stares over to Kanaya, quietly observing her. He was never taught how to introduce himself to people, so instead of saying his name he just pointed out the obvious. "…Yur hrns arr bigger thn mine….?"

"That… Sounds kinda stupid. Besides the psychic stuff, there doesn't seem like much of a point to wanting certain colors. Are the ones higher up on the scale easier to train, or something like that?" John asked, looking down at the hemoscale chart in the book, before glancing back up at Rose. "Huh… Karkat's not on here. He's bright read." He said, before glancing back at the pair, who was still sitting in the hallway, near the entrance to the livingroom.

Kanaya nodded. "They are. Your name is Karkat, correct?" she asked, eyeing the little troll's nubby little horns. He was right- compared to hers, which were fairly average sized, his horns were tiny little nubs- not even sharp at all. They couldn't hurt anyone, even if he tried.

Rose shook her head in reply. "All trolls are equal when it comes to a majority of things. I'm not sure why the hemospectrum exists, but it does. Subsequently, it has caused a lot of problems with lowbloods being killed off or left to die on the streets." She looked over to the book once more, thinking it over. "...So.. your troll has a mutation, which causes him to have a bright red blood color, I see. Might I ask where you got him from?"

Karkat nodded a bit, looking over to her. "Yss, my nimes Krrkaht... Kahrkaht... Karkt." He kept repeating his name, trying to pronounce it correctly. "Karkat Vantiss," he manged to say. He looks over to her. "And yuur Kaniyah?" He scooted a bit closer to her, hoping she wouldn't mind. She didn't seem dangerous, but he was still suspicious. He remembered learning that some people can hurt you, even if they seem like they won't.

"I… Well, I found him the other night in the alley a few blocks from where I live… I'm pretty sure someone left him there." John said quietly. He wasn't sure how much of the conversation Karkat understood, or if he was even paying attention to their conversation, but he didn't want to say anything that might upset the little guy. "So, you're saying this happens a lot? Why? He seems so nice, I don't get why anyone would do that to him."

Kanaya's ears twitched a little when Karkat moved closer, but didn't try to move away. 'He's merely a child, he couldn't be a threat if he wanted to', she reminded herself. "Yes, my name is Kanaya Maryam." She replied, watching him curiously. Had she been this small when she was younger? It hadn't seemed like it at the time, but she supposed that she had to have been that little at some point.

Rose looked over to the two trolls, lowering her voice so that they would be less likely to overhear. "…Have you ever heard of something called the sadist show? A group of people take lowbloods off the streets or from people that don't want them and do terrible things to them as a source of entertainment. As lowbloods aren't wanted otherwise, most people pay no mind to their demeaning acts of cruelty," she explains.

Karkat looked over to his feet, not really sure quite what he should say. He knew something must have been different about him. There must be a reason why people always hurt him and looked at him as if he were… filthy. He lowered his head a bit, thinking over how people had always hated him… and now, he met people that didn't. Tears began forming in his eyes, and his thoughts returned to the moment. He wiped them away quickly.

John shook his head and cringed at the thought. "Never heard of it… People really do that to them? Why?" he asked, just as quietly. Maybe that's why Karkat had been so beaten up when he'd found him? And, that collar… "Um, do you think that might've been what happened to him? He was hurt when I found him, and he had this collar on with spikes like, on the inside of it…" He muttered.

Kanaya looked a little surprised when Karkat started to cry; surprised at the fact that he was crying, and at the color of his tears. She knew they weren't the right color- they were nowhere on the hemoscale. Still, he was obviously upset, and she couldn't just sit there and do nothing. She hesitantly moved a little closer to him and reached out to rub him just behind his horns, knowing that was almost always a good place for petting. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Rose nodded slowly. "They buy those collars for their trolls, and when the trolls die they often just reuse them. They are cruel, and will stop at nothing for the sake of their 'entertainment.' It's rather sickening, and seeing how Karkat is a mutantblood, there is a high possibility he was being used by them as well. It's revolting just to think about them," she replies, being sure to keep her voice low. She hoped their trolls weren't around to overhear this.

Karkat quieted down a bit, wiping at his eyes once more to ask her the question that had haunted his mind for years, now. "...Kaniiya... why du peopl hate mi?" He couldn't help but ask. He knew she didn't seeing how nice she was treating him... But the people on the street and the people that used to own him.. why did they look at him like a piece of meat? He leaned into her hand, letting her pet him. He was learning that what is 'normal' and what is 'right' is two completely different things.

John cringed at the thought and looked back down at the book for a moment before looking back at Rose. "That- that's terrible! Someone needs to do something about this!" he said in a fierce whisper, still trying to keep his voice down in case Kanaya and Karkat heard him. "We need to do something Rose- if we don't, well, who will?" he asked quietly.

Kanaya had heard some of John and Rose's conversation, and so she kind of understood why people must look down on the little troll. She sighed and shyly put her arms around Karkat, pulling him close as she purred- something that was supposed to be a comforting sound to other trolls, right? "I would assume that people dislike you because of your blood color. Which in my opinion is stupid. Blood color shouldn't mean anything." She said softly.

Rose sighed, looking back over to him with a worried expression. "I wish we could, however it would be difficult to track them down, and even if we did there are more of then then there are of us. And even if we did manage to stop them, what would happen to the trolls that they currently have? People are quite hypocritical, and not many would wish to adopt lowbloods, however unfortunate that might be..."

Karkat curled up against her, lightly wrapping his arms around her as he sniffled. "...My blud colur...? Whiy is thaht so impurtnt...?" He nuzzled her a bit, much like a wriggler would. "...Whiy do thay have tu hurt me fr my bloud?..."

"Come on Rose, we have to figure out –something- to do. I'm sure there are other people who want to do something about this, right? What about Jade? Wouldn't she want to help with this?" John asked and shut the book.

Kanaya nodded and pulled him onto her lap. "It is supposed to signify how important one is, but it shouldn't matter. People don't seem to understand such things." She said softly as she continued purring. She understood the original reason behind the hemoscale, but not why humans seemed to think it was important anymore.

Rose thought it over, with a nod. She worried about the trolls that must be on their death beds by now, yet at the same time she worried that they might be involving themselves with something much bigger. "I believe she would, seeing as she cares greatly for the well-being of everyone. Although I worry that us three alone might not be able to help as much as we wish to," Rose replies.

Karkat curled up to Kanaya, not quite sure what she was talking about. He heard about the hemospectrum, but was never taught about it. He felt stupid not knowing, but at the same time he wasn't quite sure if he even wanted to know. The world was a cruel place, and he was a part of it. Kanaya's purring calmed him down, and he rested his head against her, drowsily.

"Well, three people's a start, right? I'm sure we aren't the only ones that want to do something about this, it's just a matter of finding them." John said. Now that he knew about this, that this sort of thing wasn't uncommon, there was no way he was just going to pretend that it didn't happen.

Kanaya sighed when she felt Karkat relax against her, and stood up after a moment, carrying him. She stumbled for a moment- he was much lighter than she'd expected he'd be, but she quickly regained her composure, and walked off to Rose's room with the sleepy little troll nestled in her arms. She wondered if he knew anything that trolls were supposed to learn as wrigglers: it didn't seem like it.

Rose nodded, getting up and going over to her library once more. She pulled out a book full of maps, and brought it over. "Perhaps I could look to see if I could find the location of their group, although I'm not sure how difficult this might be." She turned a few pages, looking for old buildings and places that were up for rent. She put bookmarks on any suspicious places she was able to find.

Karkat opened his eyes a bit, curious as to where he was going. He closed them again, feeling too tired to try and explore or look around. If anything, he would save adventuring for later. It would be more fun that way, and maybe he could even bring Kanaya with him. That would be fun.

John got up and looked down at the book she was marking. "What about there?" he asked, pointing to a ware house that had been abandoned for the past several years. No one seemed to go near it for some reason. He didn't notice Kanaya carrying of Karkat, sure that they wouldn't get into any trouble, since Kanaya seemed so well behaved.

Kanaya carried the little troll into Rose's room and set him onto the bed, before getting up on it as well. "Why don't you rest for a bit?" she said with a small smile as Karkat laid down on the bed and curled up tiredly. He was so cute.

Karkat yawned in reply, and you could see his tiny not-so sharp teeth and how small he was in comparison to the size of the bed. He flicked his ear out a bit before finally falling asleep, sucking at his thumb.

Rose marked down the area, taking it into deep consideration. "I suppose that might be it. I'll check the address as well of the history of the building. Perhaps we will be able to learn more about the group's whereabouts, or maybe even a bit more information on their history." If this organization wanted to kill off trolls for a show, they had another thing coming. John was right, they needed to be shut down. For good.

-END OF CHAPTER 3-


	4. Chapter 4

Kanaya pulled one of the blankets over the little sleeping troll before getting off of the bed and returning to the livingroom. She walked up to Rose and gave a little tug on her pant leg. "What are you two doing?" she asked curiously. She'd heard snatches of their conversation, and she wondered if they were actually going to do something about it.

John nodded. "Okay, sounds good," and looked down at Kanaya when he heard her walk into the room. "Hm? Oh, well, uh… Rose, do you wanna explain?" he asked, glancing back at his friend.

Rose nodded, motioning for Kanaya to sit down on the sofa next to them. "There is an organization that harms trolls for amusement, and me and John plan to shut them down. However, it seems that if only two people are trying to accomplish such a task, we should regroup some more," she explains.

Kanaya climbed up onto the couch, sitting in the corner so she was only next to Rose and not John. "Why don't you consider asking some of your clients next time you go to work if they would like to help us?" she asked Rose softly, deciding not to mention that she'd already heard a little about this organization from when Rose and John were talking earlier.

Rose thought it over, wondering about that. "That is a good idea, however I worry that some of my clients will become upset if I tell them. Weather or not trolls have rights is a very controversial topic as of late, and I'm not sure how many people I can get to help. However I believe I know someone by the name of Jane who might want to help."

"You could ask the people who liked me that day you took me to work with you." Kanaya pointed out before taking the book from Rose's lap and dragging it onto her own, flipping through some of the pages. John looked over at her and asked,"Hey, where's Karkat?" Kanaya flinched and looked up at him shyly. "He's sleeping in Rose's room." She replied softly.

Rose thought over the names of her clients and got up to go to her computer. She came back with a purple pen and a list of names and pictures. "I believe I remember some of them," she replies to Kanaya. She circles a few people on the list, thinking over the names. Karkat was still asleep, and didn't make a sound. For once he wasn't causing any trouble.

Kanaya closed the book and set it on the ground before cuddling close to Rose, watching as she worked on the list. "I'm gonna go check on Karkles." John said after a little while, since he didn't exactly have anything else to do at the moment. He got up and walked down the hallway, to Rose's room, and smiled when he saw Karkat sound asleep, looking quite comfortable. 'Geez he sleeps a lot. Maybe he's just that young?' John wondered. 'I should probably ask Rose about that.'

Rose smiled, lightly reaching over to pet her behind the horns. She knew Kanaya liked to be pet, although she usually never asked or anything. Karkat rolled over in his sleep, still looking really tiny in comparison to Rose's bed. He shuffled his feet a little as he dreampt, still looking rather pleased with whatever he was dreaming about.

Kanaya stiffened at the touch for a second, but soon relaxed and purred softly as Rose continued to pet her. John sat down on the edge of the bed, careful not to wake him up, and gently smoothed down the little troll's hair. Honestly, he felt really lucky that he'd managed to find Karkat, and he hoped that he could always protect him, especially now that he had some idea of what he'd gone through.

Rose smiled, continuing to pet Kanaya as she looked over to the list of names, writing down a few things and crossing out some other details. In the end, she decided she would talk to Jane and Roxy, seeing how kind they were. She wasn't quite sure if they had trolls of their own, though. Karkat purred a little as he slept, his ear twitching once more. His dream must be a good one.

Kanaya sighed softly and closed her eyes, relaxing into the gentle touch and leaning against Rose contentedly. She had started to realize this may be their last really peaceful moment together for a while, and she was simply attempting to make the most of it. After a few minutes, John stopped petting Karkat so he could take out his phone. Since Rose was busy trying to find people to help, maybe he should ask some of his friends too.

Rose knew that her and John might be getting in way over their heads, but at the same time she knew that someone had to do it. She remembered once reading a story in which the idea of a single man changed the entire world, and the people in it. One by one, they would be able to make a stand. Or at least she hoped. Karkat began to wake up, stretching his little hands and pawfeet as he yawned. He blinked up at John curiously.

"You're going to be contacting your other friends as well, correct? Will they be coming over?" Kanaya asked curiously, entirely certain that soon there house would be full of noisy people, and possibly other trolls. And while one or two would be fine if they were nice, more than that would be entirely too many. John was texting his friend Dave when Karkat woke up, and so he didn't notice the little troll looking up at him.

Karkat, figuring this would be the perfect time to go exploring like he had wanted, began to climb down from the bed and went over to the nearest window. He pawed at the curtains curiously, grabbing onto them and beginning to climb up it. Despite being light, his weight was a bit too much for it and the curtail holder fall off, making him and and the curtains fall to the ground. Meanwhile, Rose put the list in the book with the map and nearly jumped when she heard the noise.

John looked up at the noise, more than a little surprised as well. He got up and walked over to the mess of fabric known as the curtains that had fallen to the floor after Karkat's attempt at climbing them. John moved the fabric back to reveal his little troll, looking down at him worriedly. "Are you alright?" he asked softly. Kanaya perked up as well, looking toward where the sound had some from. "Should we go see what happened?" she asked hesitantly.

"I believe we should," Rose replies, turning over to Kanaya. Meanwhile, Karkat whined a little, but didn't make a huge deal out of falling down. He was used to being quiet when something happened to him, seeing how he would get hurt or beat if he made too much noise. He crawls under Rose's bed where it would be safe, and curls up in a ball, expecting to be punished or something along those lines.

Kanaya got up with Rose and followed her down the hall, toward the bedroom. "Karkat, come out of there…" John said with a small sigh as he knelt down next to the edge of the bed and peered under, trying to see his little troll. "It's alright Karkarle, I just wanna make sure you're alright." He said softly, reaching under the bed to try to get at him. He knew better than to try to pull him out like a cat, but maybe Karkat would come out if he knew he wasn't going to be hurt.

Karkat let out a light whine, covering his head. He wasn't sure what happened to the curtains, if he had broke them, or if anyone was mad. He was used to being in a lot of trouble, thinking back to the rules of his old home. He didn't come over to John, too scared that he might be in trouble. Rose was in the doorway of the room, and she looked to John wondering what was happening. "Is he stuck under there?" she asks, already inferring that Karkat knocked down her curtains and ran, by the looks of things.

John sat up when they walked in, and shook his head. "I don't think so- I think he just doesn't wanna come out." He replied, and Kanaya looked up at Rose. "Perhaps I should attempt to coax him out?" she asked the blonde girl quietly. Karkat's behavior made sense; he'd done something that he thought would warrant punishment, and so he'd retreated to somewhere safe. She'd done that too, when she was younger. She wasn't quite sure if she could still fit under Rose's bed though, since her horns had grown.

"I believe that's a good idea, although I can't be sure how we shall coax him out," Rose replies. She remembered when Kanaya would do the same, although it was easier for her to coax Kanaya out, seeing how they had a good bond and knew each other very well. She knew it might be hard to get Karkat out, but if anything she knew they should at least try. Meanwhile, Karkat was shaking, looking around for the sign of a dog or a broom, which his previous owner often used to chase him out of a place he wasn't meant to be.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," John agrees. He looks over at Kanaya with a small smile as she walked over to the bed, and knelt crouched down so she could see under it. After a few moments of struggling and shifting so she could get her horns past the edge of the bed frame, she managed to get about halfway under, and could almost reach out and touch the frightened little troll. "Karkat?" she asked softly, not wanting to startle him. "Come here, please."

Karkat uncurled a little, looking over to Kanaya and shaking his head, lightly. He didn't say anything in reply, though. He was still scared that he was in trouble. Rose looked over to Kanaya as she crawled beneath the bed, wondering if there was something she could do. She didn't want to startle him, because if she tried to help as well he might get confused by two people talking at the same time.

"It's okay, you aren't in trouble." Kanaya murmured, probably too quietly for either of the humans to hear, before managing to worm her way further under the bed so she could pet him. Kanaya purred softly, knowing it calmed the young troll down a little. Maybe it reminded him of a mother? She wasn't sure, she didn't remember much from when she was very young.

Karkat tensed up when she began to pet him, but after while he relaxed and uncurled. He wriggled a bit closer to her, calming down because of how gentle she was being. Her purring helped as well, and relaxed him even further. He made his way over to her, although be was still being quite silent. Rose watched them, trusting in Kanaya to be able to get him out.

Kanaya smiled and nuzzled him gently. "See, it's alright. Let's get out from under here now, okay?" she asked as she gently put her arm around him, getting ready to try to climb out from under the bed. John sat back a little ways away from the bed, waiting for the pair to come out, hoping Karkat wouldn't put up too much of a fight since it was another troll trying to coax him out.

Karkat curled up against her, letting her pull him out from under the bed. He felt that he could be safe around her, seeing how careful and calm she was. Rose watches Kanaya pull him out, and smiles a little at the young troll. He clung to Kanaya, as if she were his mother of sorts.

Kanaya managed to get out from under the bed, though she hissed softly when her hooked horn got caught on the bedframe for a moment. Once they were out from under the bed, she smiled and got up, walking over to John and still carrying the younger troll. "Here." She said softly as she pried Karkat off of her and gently set him in John's lap. The blue eyed boy smiled at her and nodded. "Heh, thanks." He said as he reached over and ruffled the troll's hair gently. She flinched and took a small step back, not used to such affection from anyone except Rose.

Karkat blinked over to her, not quite understanding what was happening. He sits down in John's lap, his eyes innocently wandering around the room. He spots the curtains on the floor and his ears go down, looking at it guiltily. Like a child, he tries to climb up John to cling to his neck. Rose watches them and smiles a bit, seeing that Karkat was finally out from under her bed. She does over to the curtains and fixes them, putting them back in their place above the closed window. It wasn't broken, surprisingly.

"See? It's okay. Just don't try that again, okay?" John said with a small smile as he watched Roxy put back the curtains. "Uh, sorry about that, I shoulda been keeping a closer eye on him, I guess." He said to Rose. He was glad that nothing was broken, even if he doubted Rose would be very mad. And, he knew he should probably reprimand Karkat a little more than he had, but the poor thing had already kinda put himself through his own punishment, and really, he was just glad Karkat was okay.

"It's fine John, all he did was knock them out of place. No harm done," she replies, sitting down on her bed. Karkat hugged John's neck tightly, burring his head in it. After a while he looks over to the curtains, and then over to Rose. "Sorri..." he tries to say, still looking quite guilty. "It's perfectly fine, Karkat," Rose replies. She looks over to Kanaya curiously. "Thank you for retrieving him," she smiles.

Kanaya walked over to the bed and sat down next to Rose. "It was no trouble." She replied softly before asking, "… So are other people going to be coming over as well?" John smiled as he held Karkat close and absentmindedly rubbed behind his horns. "Well, um, I've only talked to one guy about it. What about you, Rose? Did you get a hold of anyone?"

"Oh, right. I contacted a few of my clients, and it seems that we can arrange a meeting at Jane's house. She's an acquaintance of mine, and she contacted a few of her friends to see if they would be interested, and I believe they might be able to help," Rose replies. Karkat pressed his head to John's hand a bit, purring softly as he was pet.

"Okay, sounds good. So, when are we meeting up? I texted Dave, and he said he'd help too." John said as he continued to pet the little troll, grinning when he started to purr. "Heh, so Rose, trolls purring means the same thing as when a cat purrs, right?"

"That's correct. A troll, much like a cat, often purrs to show friendship or a bond. It can also be used by one troll to comfort a younger troll," Rose replies. Karkat continued his soft purring, not really paying much attention to what Rose was saying. "The meeting takes place this friday, and I will contact everyone with all of the details later on," she adds.

John nodded and took out his cellphone as he continued petting Karkat. "Cool, I'll tell Dave when we're meeting up." He replied before sending a quick text message to his friend. Kanaya smiled as she watched Karkat and listened to him purr contentedly. "We also use it to show submissiveness, on occasion, usually to highbloods." She pointed out, though Rose probably hadn't remembered since Kanaya was rarely around other trolls, let alone highbloods.

Rose nodded, faintly remembering that from a textbook she had read about trolls a while or so before she had taken in Kanaya. It was sometimes hard to remember something you've read when you read so often. Karkat was a bit curious about highbloods now, overhearing that word quite often back in his old home. He wanted to ask, but decided not to speak out, thinking he'd probably just get hit for interrupting their conversation. "Oh, I've forgotten to ask earlier, but have you two eaten? It's lunchtime around now. I could prepare something for everyone, if you would like," Rose suggests.

John smiled and shoved his phone back in his pocket once the message to Dave had been sent. He looked up at Rose with a small smile. "Ah, no we haven't actually." He replied before looking down at Karkat. "You hungry, little guy?" he asked as he ruffled the little troll's hair fondly. They had eaten breakfast pretty early, now that he thought of it; he was kind of hungry too. And Rose had always been a pretty good cook, so having lunch with her was sure to be good.

Karkat looked up at them with a wide-eyed smile, remembering the good-tasting stuff he had eaten for breakfast earlier in the morning. He wondered if he would be getting to eat the same thing again. He wasn't sure how to reply to John, so he just kept smiling in his child-like way. "Alright, I could make something for everyone then. Anything that you have in mind?" Rose asks.

"Um… Not really. I mean we had eggs for breakfast, if that gives you any ideas." John replied with a shrug before standing up, picking Karkat up with him. Kanaya watched the pair curiously as the small troll looked around. She didn't know about him, but she'd always quite liked being up high, hence why she'd been on the porch railing earlier that day.

"I think I have an idea of what I can make. How does hamburgers sound? Those are rather easy to make, and we can add our own toppings." She looked over to Kanaya, wanting to know her opinion as well. Karkat had no idea what hamburgers were, so he just rubbed at some of the sore cuts on his face, not paying much attention to the conversation.

Kanaya looked up at Rose and nodded. "That sounds good to me." She replied softly, and John nodded as well before moving Karkat so he was holding him in one arm. He glanced down at Karkat with a small frown and lightly tapped the little troll's paw. "Don't rub at those, okay?" he said softly to him.

"thei huert..." Karkat complains, continuing to rub at his cuts as if they would somehow disappear. Rose frowned when she heard that, wondering why people would do something to such a small child. "I'll be in the kitchen," she says, leaving to prepare dinner for the others.

"I know, but rubbing them isn't gonna help. I'll bandage those up when we get home, but for now, don't touch 'em." John replied as he gently grabbed Karkat's hand, keeping him from rubbing at the cuts. Kanaya watched the pair for a moment before getting up and following Rose down the hallway and into the kitchen.

Karkat whined a little, but then gave up and stopped. He watched Kanaya leave and he tugged at John's shirt, wanting to follow. Rose began getting the meat ready and lighting the grill, asking Kanaya her thoughts on which ingredients she should use to season the meat and some other things as she cooked. This was going to be a nice dinner.

-END OF CHAPTER 4-


	5. Chapter 5

John smiled and walked to the kitchen with Karkat still cradled in his arms. The group had dinner together, before John and Karkat left, with the promise that they would meet up on Friday with everyone else for the meeting. The rest of the week went quickly, and before he knew it, it was Friday and John was walking to the meeting place, holding Karkat's hand as they walked. They were meeting at the house of one of Rose's friends- someone named Jane. While he'd never been there, it actually wasn't too far away from where he lived.

Karkat walked alongside John, looking around at his surroundings with curiosity. He walked a bit too close to John sometimes, and had a bad habit of trying to step behind him, which might have made it a bit harder to walk. He seemed wary of people with long nails, or even people who just smelled a certain way. He tried not to cling to one of John's legs as they walked.

Rose had gotten breakfast ready and dressed in a nice outfit, and afterwords set out with Kanaya when Kanaya was ready. She had double checked everything to see that everyone was ready to meet up, and was glad that everything seemed to work out just fine.

The Condesce turned around, looking to her daughters with a content smile. She got up and walked along, putting on her coat. She could have easily let one of her servants do it for her, but she didn't let them near her most expensive belongings. She wouldn't want their filthy fingers dirtying her jacket right before an important meeting, after all. She looked around, her prized dog licking up some water. She had made the excuse that the dog got into fights a lot to explain the scars covering him, but of course only her daughter Meenah knew the truth behind that. She looks down at her phone, answering a text and having a servant open the door for her as she stepped outside. What a wonderful day to be queen.

John and Karkat soon arrived at the house without much trouble though it was difficult not to trip of Karkat when he walked so close. Almost like a cat. He knelt down and picked up the small troll before knocking on the door and waiting for someone to open it.

Jane hummed as she slid a cupcake tin in the oven as she waited for the rest of the group to come over. Her friend Rose had told her about all of this, that they were going to try to set up a sort of troll support system for abandoned and abused trolls. She herself didn't have much experience with them, besides the few times that she had met Kanaya, but after hearing about the troll that John had found, there was no way she could say no. To do that sort of thing to a troll or any anyone just wasn't right. She'd been more than happy to volunteer to host the meeting, though she was pretty sure that her aunt would be coming over later. Ah well, hopefully the meeting would be over by that time.

Roxy ran a comb through her hair, smiling to herself as she looked over to her car. She put a few bottles of wine and various other drinks in the back, knowing that Jane wouldn't mind if she brought some over. She closed the trunk and came back inside, looking over to Mutini. She was sure the kitten could handle himself while she was away, and looked around to be sure nothing was out that he could get tangled in or hurt with. She left, locking the door behind her before hopping into her car and texting Jane that she was on her way. This was going to be interesting. Karkat looked over to John as he knocked on the door, and watched eagerly to see who would open it.

Jane opened the door after a few minutes, smiling brightly when she saw the pair, especially Karkat. "Why hello there!" she greeted them as she opened the door a little wider so they could enter. "Please, come inside. Rose and Kanaya are already here, though, I'm not sure where my friends are… They should be here soon though." She said as John walked inside, carrying Karkat in with him. Oh goodness, he was so cute!

John smiled and shifted Karkat so he was holding the young troll one arm so he could give a little wave as he smiled goofily. "Hi, you're Jane, right? It's nice to meet you." He said as he walked inside, kicking off his shoes just inside the door. He hoped Karkat wouldn't be too nervous about all the new people, but at least Kanaya would be there, and those two had gotten along well last time, so things should be fine.

Karkat looked up curiously at Jane and dug his claws into John, hiding from her. He didn't like her scent, and somehow it felt almost familiar to one he knew all to well. The scent of baked goods and freshly baked cakes. That alone made him suspicious, although he couldn't smell anything bloody nearby at all. Even so, he clung to John fiercely, and buried his head in John's shoulder, trying his best to hide.

Roxy arrived, parking her car along the driveway and stepping out. She got a few things and closed the door behind her. She walked over to the door and smiled a bit, putting her bags down for a moment so that she could ring the doorbell. She picks up her bags again afterwords, waiting for Jane to open the door. The bottles made a light clanking sound as she did.

A/N: Hello everybody, thank you for reading Frostbitten Hearts! This story is now at an end, and will not be finished. Thank you for reading! 3


End file.
